Program
Symphony No. 3 in D Minor (1893-1896; rev. 1905) by Mahler (1860-1911).
Part I
Kraftig. Entschieden.
(Powerful. Decided.)
Part II
Tempo di menuetto: Sehr Massig.
(In minuet tempo: Very moderate.)
Comodo. Scherzando. Ohne Hast.
(Comodo. Scherzando. Without haste.)
"O Mensch! Gib acht!": Sehr langsam. Misterioso -
("Oh man! Take heed!": Very slow. Mysterious -)
"Es sungen drei Engel": Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck -
("Three angels were singing": Gay in tempo and bold in expression -)
Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden.
(Slow. Restful. Heartfelt.)
Artists
Gerhild Romberger, mezzo-soprano
Trebles of Westminster Symphonic Choir - Donald Nally, director.
Young People's Chorus of New York City - Elizabeth Nunez, director.
Curtain Call. To the right of Fischer are Romberger and the directors of the choirs. Notice how the double basses are spread out: 4 in the middle, 2 on each side.
I thought of a new way to characterize what makes a concert "good" in my view. A good concert is one where I appreciate how the musicians do their jobs, and how I am engaged with trying to understand how the piece is put together. A great concert, on the other hand, pulls me into the music so I will be on the same journey as the musicians. When did I realize this? When I was listening to tonight's performance. How did the thought come about? When I could find no fault with what I was hearing, and even enjoying seeing how the different sections played, but yet didn't feel much beyond "good music played by competent musicians." My standard for this Mahler symphony is the Mehta/LA Phil concert of 2023, an event I characterized as being near perfect. Romberger also sang at that performance; she was called an alto then.
This isn't the first time I observed the clinical cleanness of the Carnegie sound working to the performers' disadvantage. The voices didn't blend in as well as they should, in my view. Of course that cleanness also made it easy to tell which section (or individual) was playing. The size of the orchestra was considerable; I counted 16 first violins, 10 cellos, two sets of timpani, and 6 additional percussionists. There were brass and percussion off-stage. One stage door would be partly open when the off-stage instruments were playing. The choirs were also large, about 40 members each.
A minor point I noticed - and don't remember reading anywhere before - is that there is a progression in the order of the last five movements: flowers, animals, humans, angels, and love. I assume Mahler had to be intentional in how he constructed the order of the movements. Mahler once said inspiration was so plentiful around the Austrian countryside that he could pick up melodies from the ground. (I guess Beethoven did the same, but his melodies are a lot more hummable.) How he decided whether the melody is a "flower" talking rather than an "angel" singing, I wouldn't know. In any case, he withdrew the "program" eventually.
When Anne said the music sounded very familiar, I told her it was probably because the timpani at times sounded like what is in Strauss's Also Sprach Zarasthustra, or that Mahler often utilized instruments off-stage. Turns out we heard this at the BBC PROMS last year. She remembers, and I had forgotten. I did call that performance "good," but it clearly got displaced in my mind in about half a year. (Of course this also speaks to the state of my mind.)
We met up with Ellie's family and some friends earlier today for lunch at American Dream, afterwards we just stayed in Hoboken before taking the bus to New York. Things were smooth both ways, and we got home at around 11:30 pm. If we had taken the train in, it would be about 12:15 am for us to get in.
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